Small Williamstown Township farm ordered to cease operations

Appeal looms for urban farm case

Feb. 21, 2014

Jessica Hudson and her family are raising goats and other farm animals at their Williamstown Township home. An Ingham County Circuit Court Judge has ordered that farm cease operations. / File photo|LSJ

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A small farm in the yard of a home in Williamstown Township must stop operating according to an order by an Ingham County judge.

Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina ruled Thursday that Jessica and Jeremiah Hudson’s “Sweet Pea Farm,” 3920 Williamston Road, does not have the right to operate on land zoned for residential use. The couple keeps goats, pot-bellied pigs, chickens, and rabbits in the back yard of their home which sits on 1.5 acres.

Township attorney Gary Bender said the Hudsons failed to establish that they were practicing under the state’s rules for farm practices such as manure management and proper animal housing. He said they had to prove that to support their defense under the Right to Farm Act.

“They had the burden of proof and could not satisfy that burden,” Bender said.

Wendy Banka, President of the Michigan Small Farm Council, said the Hudsons never had a chance to present their case before the judge made the ruling. A formal site verification to confirm the farm was operating under accepted practices didn’t happen because an inspector would not go to the farm, she said.

Her organization provides legal support to owners of small farms like those operated by the Hudsons, connecting them with the Right to Farm Legal Defense Fund.

“They (Hudsons) may have lost this battle but the war is not over,” Banka said. “There is no doubt the case will now go to an appeals court because almost all Right to Farm cases are never decided in the lower courts.”

If an appeal is filed, a hearing will take place to determine if the farm can remain operating during the appeal process.

The Hudsons declined to comment, citing their attorney’s advice.

Last fall Williamstown Township’s attorney issued a cease and desist order seeking to shut the farm down. When the Hudsons continued the farm, the township took the case to court.

At least $20,000 was donated from around the country to help pay legal bills after Hudson made an online plea for help.

She said one of the reasons she started the farm was to be able to provide food for her five children, who are highly allergic to cow’s milk and other processed foods.